Trina Schart Hyman, 65, Illustrator Of Books

Trina Schart Hyman, who illustrated an entire shelf of children's books and inspired many others who worked in the genre, died on Nov. 19 in Lebanon, N.H. She was 65 and lived in Lyme, N.H.

The cause was complications of breast cancer, said Jean Aull, her partner.

She won the Caldecott Medal, the highest award for authors and artists in her field, for Margaret Hodges' St. George and the Dragon: A Golden Legend Adapted From Edmund Spenser's `Faerie Queen' (Little, Brown: 1984). She won Caldecott honors three times, for Little Red Riding Hood; A Child's Calendar, with text by John Updike; and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric A. Kimmel (Holiday House, 1989).

She joined the staff of Cricket magazine for children as an artist and illustrator in 1972 and became its art director. By the time she left, in 1979, she had established herself as a model for many others looking for a career in children's book publishing.

In all, Ms. Hyman illustrated more than 150 books.

She was born Trina Schart in Philadelphia and grew up in Doylestown, Pa.

Her marriage to Harris Hyman, of Portland, Ore., ended in divorce. Besides Aull, Ms. Hyman is survived by her daughter, Katrin Tchana of Fairlee, Vt., for whom she illustrated a retelling of The Serpent Slayer and Other Stories of Strong Women (Little, Brown; 1998); and two grandsons.